Mario Party 5

"Hangover party."

Some people dream of exploring the world. I, on the other hand, would rather be much safer snuggling in the safe sanctuary of my home. We all have had our share of dreams, like finding the perfect match only to wake up and realize it was all a figure of your imagination. The dream sequence has also become a infamous TV cliche where some kid becomes a hero and kicks all kind of space mutant butt, and suddenly realizes it was all a dream. Even Mario did it in an adventure known as Super Mario Bros 2. And saving dreams? Yeah, that's been done, too. 40 Winks, for example. Guess what? It's back with a vengeance! We've gone from party lands to a toybox to a party cube and now to a dream land. Yes sir, Mario Party is back for a 5th installment! In light of the success of the previous four, Hudson has decided to try some new ideas this time. With more minigames than ever before, this party is sure to be a blast - Or is it?

Remember the Star Spirits from Paper Mario that watch over the Star Rod in Star Haven? Well, it turns out they're also guardians of the Dream Depot, the land where everyone's dreams are kept. Well, Bowser and his Koopa Kids have sneaked into the Star Spirits' sanctuary, and this time, they're not after the Star Rod! They're after the Dream Depot, and their plan is to corrupt everyone else's dreams and make their own dreams come true, since unlimited wishes from the Star Rod obviously didn't work out too well for them. The Star Spirits once again seek Mario's assistance to stop Bowser. Mario and his friends decide to play Mario Party to save everybody's dreams (seriously, how will that help?). Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. I mean, I don't mind a somewhat childish and simple story (as in previous Mario Parties), but this is plain immature.

Seven out of eight characters from Mario Party 4 are available in Mario Party 5, that one character singled out being Donkey Kong. Many DK fans will be pissed about this, yes, so you're going to have to go with your second-favorite choice this party. Some people may be enraged that DK is no longer a playable character, but at least he still makes an appearance. He now has his very own space on the board with his very own minigames. You know what, Hudson? If you're going to shed DK with this disgracing treatment, then leave him out of the series altogether! For playable characters, you have Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Daisy, and Waluigi. There's also 3 new characters joining the fray - Boo, Toad, and Koopa Kid! (Hopefully, this will stop all the savage complaints about Toad not being a playable characters).

Each Star Spirit is in charge of a different mode of play. Party Mode is hosted by Eldstar, and plays just like you're used to. Four players are placed on a board map. Each player takes a turn rolling the dice to determine the number of spaces he or she moves. Each space has it's own effect. For example, landing on a blue space will grant you three free coins, while red spaces take away three coins. Happening spaces (marked with explanation marks) will trigger an on-board event which will effect the way the game plays. Other spaces may force you into a duel or have Bowser pay you a visit. As you can see, pretty much all the spaces have remained unchanged. The goal, as in the previous games, is to collect more stars than your opponents. A star space is placed on a random board space every game, and players must reach them by moving across the board map and purchasing them with their coins.

Mario Party 5 brings 6 all-new board maps to play. The board maps in this game are featured around different types of dreams, primarily those from children. This results in an extremely childish and nonsense atmosphere to each board. One is called Toy Dream, where everything is centered around happy-go-lucky wind-up toys and cuddly teddy bears. Another is called Sweet Dream, where everything involves cake, candy, and other teeth-rotting substances. The atmosphere of each of these is extremely bright and painful to look at. I'm all against Mario's "kiddy" image, but this just pushes it way too far. One things the boards do add, however, is a new 3-D effect, where instead of treading flat walkways, you'll make full use of vertical 3-D effects. Sadly, this isn't enough to save the mind-numbing atmosphere the boards present.

Mario Party has always used a complex item system (except in the original) to expand board play. This time, Hudson has replaced items with capsules, which you'll receive at random from talking vendors. Of all the changes that have occurred this time around, this is perhaps the worst of all. Everything is now completely random. With items, you could do some strategic planning for how you play them. With capsules, you don't even get to choose which player to affect, and you don't even get to choose your capsule! Where's the pride in a luck advantage? Note to Hudson - Please don't ever again try to fix what's not broken.

Of course, everyone knows that the Mario Party franchise is all about the minigames. Mario Party 5 sports around 75 all-new minigames. One especially fun minigame is Mario Mechs, which pits one player in a giant robot walker against the 3 other players who are in smaller hover bikes. The goal is to blast your opponents with lasers in order to knock them out before the time expires. Though it may seem that 3 players have an advantage over the one, the single player actually fires more powerful beams, and the hover bikes can be knocked out much more quickly. A few other minigames have this type of fun. The number of those fun ones is significantly lower than in the previous installments, unfortunately. In fact, I found more button-mashers in this game than in every previous Mario Party! These can definitely leave blisters in your thumbs if you mash too hard. Remember, it's just a game. Another thing I don't like is how many minigames are based on luck. One of them is even called "Random Ride", where you simply select a vehicle to bet on, and watch it helplessly in a race. On the bright side, there aren't any "rotate-the-control-stick-as-fast-as-you-can" minigames like in the first Mario Party. I still feel the pain to this day.

Story Mode has received a face lift in this game. Instead of facing off against 3 computer players in a regular board game, you are faced off against 3 of Bowser's kids who have 15 coins each. You must take these coins away from them by traveling around the board and facing them in duel minigames. This is much faster than story modes in the previous two Mario Parties. On the down side, it's much more boring, especially since all but one of the duel minigames suck hard (the one exception is Piece Out, which is an extremely addictive variation on Tetris). Naturally, story mode gets extremely repetitive, and there's zero incentive for completing it with more than one character like in the previous 2 Mario Parties. Not to mention the Koopa Kids are ever so loathed. Why not use the Koopalings? Instead, we're stuck with these mindless drones with zero personality!

There's also a new mode featured in this game entitled Super Duel Mode. Hosted by Skolar, Super Duel Mode features customizable vehicles that can be used to battle against one another. You'll start out with basic parts, and will be able to purchase more as you collect more coins from battle minigames. Kind of like a Mario Kart battle mode, you're equipped with ammo that must be launched at your opponent. There's different types of ammo, and each one fires differently. Each player also has a health meter at the top. Once their health meter is diminished, the other player will win. This mode would actually be a lot of fun if only it didn't control like grandma's broken back. It's virtually impossible to control your vehicle, and even more difficult to aim correctly. If you want a real kart-battle experience, I'd recommend Mario Kart: Double Dash. This is more of a watered-down version with ultra-loose controls.

Graphically, I wouldn't call this game stunning in any way. It's basically identical to Mario Party 4, and possibly not even as good. The paths and spaces are solid, sure, but there's little texture to be seen at all. The character models feel dated. Hudson sure has got lighting down, though. The colors are all fairly bright, especially in some of the board maps like Rainbow Dream, so don't strain your eyes there, pal. However, most of the Mario games this generation look sharper and crisper. Compare Mario in this game to Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee or Super Mario Sunshine. You'll notice a big difference.

The Mario Party series was never known for it's spectacular sound effects in the first place, so low-quality sound isn't much of a surprise. Fairly catchy but rather forgettable tunes occupy both the board maps and the minigames. The character voices should be pretty familiar to you, as they're pretty much the same ones used in the last 4 titles. The same high-pitched female announcer is back, and so is DK's blasted carburetor voice. Time to update, Hudson. Fortunately, the character voices aren't too annoying.

Lasting appeal depends on whether or not you're playing with others. Mario Party 5 is a game you can't simply squeeze in all one night. With its numerous modes and minigames, you'll be partying for quite some time, at least until Mario Party 6 comes out (we all know they'll make one). You'll be pretty much spending all your time in Party or Mini-Game Mode, though, as Story and Super Duel Mode both leave something to be desired. Single player won't provide as much enjoyment, if any at all, so this game is best played with others. It's called Mario Party, for crying out loud.

Overall, I was severely disappointed with Mario Party 5. The first 4 were some of the greatest multiplayer experiences I've ever had. In this, I had a hard time staying awake. Story mode is like a virtual sleeping pill, capsules are a poor substitute for items, DK gets the undeservable shaft, and even the minigames are disappointing. Graphics and sound effects are beginning to feel very dated. Super duel mode, while a unique extra, is nothing to be excited about. This game is more of a downgrade than anything. It just lacks that charm that the previous 4 Mario Parties had. Maybe they shouldn't be released so often, so Hudson can brainstorm ideas for minigames and miscellaneous modes that are actually fun for more than an hour. I actually think this game was much more of a rush job than a disappointment.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/07/07